Sep 8, 2011

Genderless?

Back from summer break, I would like to share a story with you I came across in August. Heteronormativity is also about defining gender as a binary, and people seem to have an urge to know whether someone is one or the other. This story is on parents who keep the gender of their third child a secret. They consider their baby's genitals as "private business". And they are - I guess, everybody would agree on that when it comes to their own genitals. It is fascinating how strongly the media and people react to the parents' decision not to talk publicly about something that would expose a human being to stereotypes. Note: The parents do not consider their child as genderless, they just do not talk about gender.
Now: There is the Austrian article which triggered my interest, and an article the mother wrote herself which I chose because I am suspicious of the authenticity of information in newspaper articles. But I guess there is much more to find on the story on the WWW if you are interested.

The questions that came to my mind while reading the articles were: Why would people think that raising a 'genderless' child would be possible in this gendered society? And if it was possible: why would it be a problem?